In museums across the world, Richard Nagler stationed himself in
front of his chosen piece of art, waiting for someone to come along and
complete it. The serendipitous, unstaged encounters between art and
individuals documented in Looking at Art are the results of that patience.

At first, the egalitarian relationship between person and artwork
seems perplexing: the art is not relegated to the background, nor is the
individual considered a disruption. In Nagler’s photographs, artwork
and individual are presented as equals, each one mirroring and
amplifying aspects of the other. The viewer takes on some of the power
of the art by echoing an image or theme; and at the same time, the
artwork takes on added depth by its momentary association with its
viewer. The transformative power of art has been widely acknowledged,
but Nagler also shows us art’s need to be transformed and given meaning
by humanity.

Allen Ginsberg once said, “Every one of [Nagler’s] photographs brings
to my mind a haiku.” Like that poetic form, these images display
masterful skill and restraint, yet they also convey a sense of immediacy
and undeniable vitality. A celebration of the connection between people
and art, Looking at Art captures fleeting moments of wholeness.